


In Which a Cat, a Dragon, and a Ladybug Plot the Downfall of a Butterfly

by SalamanderGoo



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Gorilla is called Gordon :), Hawkmoth better watch his bitch ass, Identity Reveal, Lila has a CHANCE at redemption, Multi, Parental Gorilla, Parental Nathalie, Tom is gonna get the ox miraculous, and Sabine is going to get the goat, its little tho
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-05
Updated: 2020-05-04
Packaged: 2021-03-02 20:08:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,522
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24012610
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SalamanderGoo/pseuds/SalamanderGoo
Summary: After an akuma battle on the first day of the last year of lyceé, Ladybug and her partners learn the location of their greatest enemy and figure out the worst.  With the help of Marinette’s parents and the only two adults that have been there for Adrien, they’re finally going to take him down!
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug/Kagami Tsurugi, Alya Césaire/Nino Lahiffe, Ivan Bruel/Mylène Haprèle, Juleka Couffaine/Rose Lavillant, Max Kanté/Alix Kubdel/Lê Chiến Kim/Ondine, Sabine Cheng/Tom Dupain
Comments: 1
Kudos: 50





	In Which a Cat, a Dragon, and a Ladybug Plot the Downfall of a Butterfly

Marinette stumbled as she hurried down the stairs from her bedroom. Tikki barely had enough time to zip into her sweater pocket by the time she burst into the kitchen in the flat. “Good morning maman!”

Sabine smiled. “Good morning Marinette. Ready to start your last year of lycee?”

“Definitely!” She grabbed a croissant and some slices of strawberry, smiling. “Is papa down in the bakery?”

“He is. I’m sure he has a treat for you to take to your class.” Sabine pulled Marinette down to kiss her cheek. “You’ve gotten so tall. What happened to my little girl?”

“Maman…” She laughed. “Is it okay if some of my friends come home with me for lunch?”

“Of course! Your friends are always welcome.” Sabine reached up to smooth down Marinette’s hair. “You look so lovely with your hair down.”

“Thank you, maman. I’ll see you at lunchtime!” She headed down to the bakery, eating her strawberries and slipping one into her pocket for Tikki. The bakery was already busy, but Tom smiled broadly upon seeing Marinette.

“Have a wonderful day at school, Marinette!” He gave her a box of macarons of various colors and flavors and a bag. “The macarons are for your class, the croissants were made special for Kagami and Adrien!”

“Thank you Papa!” She grinned at him before heading out, giggling as she peeked in the bag. “Aw, he made one with peppers and one with cheese! Plagg and Longg will love these.”

Tikki peeked out of her pocket. “And I get a macaron?”

“Of course!” Marinette grinned brightly. “You always do, Tik!” She smiled as she crossed the street with a bounce in her step. “Alya!”

Alya looked up from her conversation with Max, grinning. “Mari! Look at you being early!” She ran to catch her in a hug, laughing. “Girl, it’s been too long!”

“You came over for dinner on Saturday!”

“To get away from the chaos twins.” She laughed, leaning back to look at Marinette’s outfit. “Is this the sundress you were working on? Give it a twirl, girl!”

Marinette rolled her eyes, but giggled as she spun on one foot, letting the dress flow around her thighs. “It turned out so much better than I expected it to! Plus it’s got like, super deep pockets!”

“Uh oh, don’t look now, but the ice queen is looking!” Alya winked. “Morning Kagami!”

“Alya.” Kagami nodded in greeting, a smile quirking at the corner of her mouth. “It is good to see you. Marinette, you look utterly ravishing as always. I admire the quality of your dress. May I kiss you?”

Marinette giggled, taking Kagami’s hand and pulling her into a soft kiss. “Hi Kagami. I haven’t seen you much this summer! How are you?”

It was partially true, though Ryuuko had been on patrols and come by the bakery a few times. Kagami hummed in thought. “Things weren’t too eventful. You came to the tournament, which was the most eventful thing, anyway. Is Adrien here yet? I haven’t seen him much.”

Also partially true. Marinette had seen him more, if only because Chat spent more nights with her than at home. Poor kitten had felt lonely with Nathalie gone most of the summer for conferences Gabriel hadn’t wanted to attend himself, and Gorilla, well, Gordon, was vacationing with his family, leaving a different driver filling in.

“I’m sure your Sunshine Boy will be here soon.” Alya smiled. “So Kagami, any matches coming up soon?”

“No, though I am continuing to train, mostly with Adrien. Soon I may be able to qualify for the Olympics! Between that and the baccalaureate, this year should be fairly full.” Kagami smoothed down her skirt. “Though I am considering some extra music lessons this year, perhaps as something of a side hobby. How was your internship?”

“Girl, it was incredible! I owe so much to the Ladyblog. Ever since the… hiccup in collège, again, Mari, I can never apologize enough for that, it’s become huge. Working for a real newspaper was amazing. Even though the first month wasn’t much more than just delivering coffees and moving things between departments, it was a great look into the industry! I got to go out and do some investigative journalism with real reporters!” Alya held her hands to her chest, clutching her phone. “I can’t wait to graduate and start my own magazines or paper! As much as I love blogging, I’d love to just hold a finished product.”

“Oh Alya, that sounds incredible. And again, you’re totally forgiven.” Marinette giggled.

“You still haven’t given me all the deets about the tour with Jagged.” Alya grinned. “I had to see pictures of you dressing up Fang on Instagram like everyone else!” She elbowed Marinette teasingly.

Marinette giggled. “Well, to be fair, I collapsed as soon as I got home. But it was great! I got to sew tears backstage! Jagged ripped his jacket on stage in Berlin and I had to sew the seam between songs. It was exhilarating.” She let out a happy sigh. “Uncle J is really something else. And… I’m designing onesies for his baby.”

“Jagged and Penny are having a baby?” Alya’s voice went up, and Kagami was staring at Marinette with wide eyes. Kagami wasn’t a huge fan of Jagged’s music, but she’d met him and Penny over dinner after she started dating Marinette.

“Mhm! They’re ready to announce it, but I asked if I could give the scoop to my BFF… Penny wants you to call tonight so you can talk out the article!”

“Marinette, I would propose right now if Kagami wasn’t standing next to you.” Alya hugged her tightly. “Thank you! Thank you this is amazing! I love you so much, ‘nette.”

Marinette hugged back, arms wrapped around her waist. “Aw, I love you too Alya. You’re my best friend, you know.”

“Oh, I know.” She laughed. “Text me Penny’s number and I’ll call her as soon as I’m home. For now though… I’ll leave you girls to catch up with Adrien.” She winked, heading off to tell Nino about her article.

“Hi Kagami, hi Marinette!” Adrien waved, getting out of his car. Marinette smiled, lightly nodding towards Adrien, letting Kagami hug him first. “I’ve missed you two…..”

“Aw, kitten, we missed you too.” Marinette caught him in a quick kiss. “Papa sent you two some treats, though I think your kwami will appreciate them more.”

She was training to become the new guardian, and at the beginning of the school year last year, Master Fu had given her the miracle box. She knew everyone’s identities, but the only ones to know hers were Adrien and Kagami, because running around as Marinette and Ladybug had become exhausting to keep from her partners. For their half year anniversary, she had called Chat and Ryuuko to her balcony and revealed Tikki to them, who helped her explain.

Longg peeked out of Kagami’s bag, hidden by the three of them, and Plagg looked out of Adrien’s pocket. “Cheese?”

“Cheese croissant. And one with pepper oil for you Longg.”

“Thank you Missss Ladybug.” Longg bowed respectfully as Kagami split it with him. Plagg on the other hand, just ate the whole croissant.

“Plagg!” Tikki glared. “That was for you and Adrien!”

Marinette laughed. “Aw, it’s okay. Adrien, I’ve got some extra macarons.”

Adrien grinned. “Maybe I’ll swing by for a late night snack.”

“Or you can come over for lunch and snack on all the discarded pastries while they’re warm?” She opened the box, letting him pick.

“I’m sold. Everything your family makes is amazing. Especially you.” He winked as he bit into a red macaron.

Kagami shook her head with a smile as she shared a look with Marinette. “Our boyfriend is ever the flirt, isn’t he?”

“If only he could remember to keep it outside battles.” Marinette kissed his cheek as the first bell rang. “Shall we head in?”

The kwami zipped back into their hiding spots, and Kagami offered her hands to her partners. Adrien and Marinette took them happily, squeezing as they headed up the stairs to go inside.

“This is where I leave you both.” Kagami smiled as they pressed kisses to her cheeks, letting go of their hands. “I’ll see you both at lunch, okay?”

“See you then!”

“Bye, ‘Gami!” Marinette waved as she and Adrien went into the classroom. Most of their classmates were already there, sitting in clusters and talking. She smiled as Adrien took her bag, sliding into a seat and gesturing for her to go hand out her macarons.

Marinette grinned, heading over to Max and Kim. “Morning! Macaron?”

Kim grinned. “Oh hell yeah! Thanks Marinette!”

Max smiled as he took one. “Thank you. How was your summer?”

“Great! Went on tour with Jagged and had tons of inspiration. How about the two of you?”

“Enlightening. I learned quite a bit about new methods of programming, and updated Markov’s database. Unfortunately, at the moment, some of the updates need to be debugged, so he must remain by my home computer. But for now, I am progressing quite quickly.”

“That’s great to hear! Tell Markov I said hi. Kim, how was your summer?” She smiled sweetly.

“Incredible. I hurt my knee at the end of last year so I couldn’t swim, but Ondine set me up to be an announcer for swim meets, and it rocked!”

Max smiled fondly. “He was more than adequate. I didn’t understand much, but he was interesting nevertheless.”

“You get me.”

Alix ran up behind them. “Hey dweebs. Hey Marinette.”

“Hey Alix! I saw you a few times over the summer! I love the new tattoos. And I hear you got a motorcycle?” Marinette offered her a pink macaron.

“Thanks, ‘Nette! And I totally did. I’m already training for some motocross events and I’ve been doing more graffiti art!” She grinned, flexing an arm, showing off her new ink.

“That’s awesome Alix! I’ve always loved your style. How’s Ondine?”

“Amazing and incredible. And in the qualifiers for the Olympics!”

“No way!” Marinette grinned. “Let her know I said congratulations, okay?” She headed to another cluster as Alix saluted.

Juleka was sitting in the back next to Mylene, Rose and Ivan in front of them, turned around to talk and laugh together. “Hey guys! Macaron?”

Juleka grinned as she took one. “Thanks Marinette,” she said softly.

“Sorry I couldn’t come see Luka off to university. How is he?”

“He was sad you couldn’t come say bye, but he understands. He, uh, he said to tell you to stay in touch. And that he gave me something, that you’d understand what he meant?”

Marinette’s eyes were drawn to a new bracelet wrapped around Juleka’s wrist, a bracelet with a scaled pattern. She’d known, of course, that Luka would hand off the snake miraculous to Juleka, but… he couldn’t know she was Ladybug. Marinette had been so careful.

“I... oh, right! I’ll… send that message along then.” Implying that she knew Ladybug wasn’t really a lie.

Rose grinned. “Marinette, I love your dress! Is that the one you showed us the sketches for at the last Kitty Section practice?”

“It is!” She grinned. “I’m surprised you noticed.”

“Who wouldn’t notice a Marinette original? You’re so talented!” Mylene smiled sweetly.

“Thanks Mylene.” Marinette looked up as the last of their class trickled in, glancing up at the clock. “I’m gonna go hand the last of these out!”

Lila rested a hand on her hip, frowning as she eyed Marinette. “I see they let you back in.”

“I could say the same to you.” She held out the box. “Macaron?” Lila’s lies had been aired out within a few months, but she’d never stopped trying to make Marinette’s life a living hell.

Or Ladybug’s, for that matter.

But Marinette wasn’t going to let Lila ruin her day, managing to avoid being knocked over as she was brushed past. “You’re the one missing out, not me.” Marinette smiled. “Sabrina, hey! Macaron?”

“Oh, yes please!” She took one happily. “Chloe should be in soon, she had to touch up her lipstick!”

“I heard that over the summer the two of you…?”

Sabrina blushed, giggling. “We started dating, yeah. She’s gotten so sweet… and I've seen her change. Even if things weren’t the best when we were younger, She makes me happy. And I think I’m exactly the person she needs.”

“For sure. You’ve gotten so confident!” Marinette looked up as Chloe approached. “Hey Chloe. Good to see you!”

“Dupain-Cheng.” It wasn’t unkind, even accompanied by a small smile. “Are those for everyone?”

“There’s even honey flavored ones. I’ve heard you’ve developed a taste for it,” She said innocently. Even if Chloe was nice enough now, Marinette still found a tiny bit of sadistic joy in dropping tiny hints that she knew Chloe was Queen Bee.

“Ah, yes, I have.” Chloe took the yellow macaron, smiling lightly. “...thanks. Come on Sabrina, let’s sit.” She took Sabrina’s hand, leading her to an empty seat.

Marinette sat next to Adrien, grinning. “I think it’s gonna be a good year.”

“I do too.” Adrien pressed a quick kiss to her cheek, getting his tablet out, tapping his stylus gently on the table as the bell rang.

Marinette stuck the charm of her necklace in her mouth, chewing lightly on it as their teacher began class. She didn’t think much of it when Lila was excused, busy focusing on doodling Plagg in the margins of her notes. She did, however, think a little more about it when the wall collapsed a few minutes later, bricks and mortar crumbling.

There was a mix of screams and curses, their teacher yelling to evacuate. Marinette slipped into the bathroom, noticing a flash of purple ahead of her and a quiet voice muttering Sass’s transformation phase. Marinette called for Tikki under her breath, hiding behind the wall of a bathroom stall.

“Juleka, be more careful next time.” She took her yoyo off her hip, offering a small smile, doing her best to look like she’d just swung in.

“Ladybug, you…”

“Luka told me. I know all the holders. You know, I had you in mind for another miraculous if it ever needed to be brought out, but now isn’t the time. Sorry if this is all blunt, but we have to go. Do you have a name in mind?”

She nodded. “Sombre Scale.”

“Dark scales? I like it.” She smiled. “We’ll likely need your Second Chance. Let’s go!” She ran out of the bathroom, Sombre close behind.

The walls had collapsed in other parts of the school, and Ladybug found herself anxiously rolling her yoyo between her hands. “Ladybug! What are we looking at?” Ryuuko landed next to Ladybug, frowning as she looked around. “And who is this?”

“Viperion is unavailable, Sombre Scale will be taking over for the time being. Where’s Chat? I haven’t seen the akuma victim, but the walls have been collapsing. It’s either a giant of some kind, or they have a destructive power.” Ladybug had a brief flashback to Chat Blanc, shuddering slightly, her chest feeling tight.

“You okay?” Sombre’s voice was soft.

“Fine, fine. Just… remembering an old akuma. For now…” She swung her yoyo, launching herself through a hole in the wall, landing next to Carapace outside. “Carapace, you turned 18, right?”

“Sure did, dudette!” He nodded, eyes searching the sky.

“Perfect. Your Shellter should be able to be used much longer, maybe multiple times. Remind me to do some training with you soon. We might need you to protect civilians.” Ladybug looked around, frowning. “But there’s no sign of the akuma.”

She yelped at a hand on her shoulder, nearly falling. “Well, meow-ch, bugaboo!”

“You… Chat!”

“That’s the name, m’lady.” He grinned, but something felt… off. His eyes were wrong, somehow.

Ladybug glanced at Ryuuko, who had narrowed her eyes, fingers on the handle of her sword. “Chat, have you seen the Akuma?”

“Nope! Just searching for it like you.” He bounced over her, winking at Rena, who just raised an eyebrow.

“Right, well… Chat, you take the north with Ryuuko and Queen Bee, take Sombre with you too, teach her the ropes, I’ll go south with Carapace and Rena.” She started to swing her yoyo, but retracted it as soon as they were gone. “That’s not Chat.” She opened her yoyo communicator, frowning.

Rena watched the four disappear, Carapace frowning as he held his shield in his arms. “So we’re banking on that being the akuma?”

“Yup.” Ladybug frowned when Plagg came zooming up to her, phasing through the roof. “Plagg? Where’s Chat?”

“He got himself trapped. Seems the akuma is another shapeshifter, but not like the one from a few years back.”

“Chameleon? Oh fuck.” Ladybug groaned. “I’ll bet you anything it’s Lila. I swear, the second we get more evidence she’s in league with Hawkmoth, we’re taking her out.”

Plagg grinned. “I’ve said it before, you would’ve made a great kitten.” He gave a purr as Ladybug gave him a scratch behind the ears. “I’ll take you to him.”

She nodded, turning to Rena and Carapace. “I’ll be back soon. Hopefully with the real Chat, assuming he isn’t injured.” Before anything more was said, she leapt through the fallen wall, following Plagg. She had to stop to check on a few civilians, Plagg hiding in a pigtail. But finally, they got to the locker room, where Adrien was pinned to the floor by a fallen chunk of ceiling. “Oh kitten.”

Adrien gave her a pained smile. “Mar- Ladybug. Hey.”

Plagg zipped out to nuzzle against Adrien’s cheek, purring loudly. “We would’ve been here faster, but-“

“Plagg, you did great.”

“Why didn’t you transform?” Ladybug knelt next to Adrien, kissing his forehead softly.

“Plagg said it could hurt me worse, and he didn’t want to risk cataclysm spreading to my body and not just the rubble.” He watched as Ladybug inspected the rubble, reaching into the pocket of her costume.

“Well, the akuma is impersonating you. Ryuuko and Queen Bee are with the imposter, and I’m sure Ryu knows exactly what’s happening.” She used a multitool to work out some of the rubble, wincing when she saw his jeans soggy with blood. “Oh Adricat.” She carefully lifted the largest piece, brushing the dust off him.

“It… hurts. Pretty bad.” He laughed weakly. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to-“

“Shh.” She stroked his hair. “Wrong place, wrong time. Happens to the best of us. But the cure should fix it, but I’m worried there might be scarring…”

“I hope not. What… what would father say?” He seemed to pale, Ladybug holding him close. “I hope it doesn’t scar, Ladybug.”

“We'll figure it out.” She pressed kisses to his hair, humming softly. “Plagg, would he be able to transform since the rubble is off?”

“He should be able to. But you better stay off that leg! Or I’ll cataclysm your Ladybug posters.”

Ladybug hid a giggle. “His what?”

“Claws out!” Adrien yelped, letting Ladybug help him up as the light of his transformation faded.

“Come on, we’ve got a copycat to wipe out.”

Chat gasped. “Ladybug, was that a pun?”

She winked, throwing her yoyo to zip out, Chat following closely.

Rena was locked in a fight with the imposter, who had amassed a small army of copycats.

“You’re shitting me.” Ladybug spun her yoyo as a fake chat lunged at her. “Come on!”

Queen Bee yelped as she dodged a strike. “Sorry Ladybug!”

Ryuuko frowned. “We were going to take the akuma down by the Eiffel Tower, Unfortunately, we did not know about-“ She jabbed her sword at a Chat who punched at her. “This.”

“It wasn’t something any of us expected. Where’s Sombre?”

“Dodge left, Cara!” The shout came from the roof.

“Second chancing I see.” Chat stumbled back, awkwardly hopping on his good leg, “Oh no. Oh no, this is bad.”

Ladybug swung her yoyo low, swiping down several Chat clones. “Do we have eyes on the akuma?”

Rena yelled for her mirage, creating several Ladybug illusions, Ladybug calling for her lucky charm at the same time. “A sharpie,” she muttered.

There was a single Chat tearing through the illusions, and Ladybug gasped. “Carapace! Catch!” She threw the black spotted marker to Carapace, who got close enough to mark the face of the rampaging Chat.

“Shellter!” He caught them in a green bubble, grinning.

Ladybug grinned, the attention of the clones locked on her. ”Queenie!”

“On it!” Queen Bee used the string of her spinning top to capture the clones.

“Carapace, release the akuma, Chat, ready?”

“Always, dear.” He summoned his cataclysm, watching as Ladybug caught the akuma with her yoyo, Rena grabbing their wrists, where a gray bracelet sat. It almost blended in with the black leather. It disintegrated as Chat touched it, sending the person disappearing in black bubbles. Ladybug caught the butterfly, looking over at Carapace.

“Remember the plan?”

“As long as Rena covers me.” He leapt away as Ladybug cured the damage done, Chat letting out a relieved sigh.

“Leg better?”

“Yeah. I’m gonna head back to what I was doing.” He smiled. “Doing anything tonight?”

“Well, there’s a certain girl I’m hoping will visit me tonight…” She grinned, watching as Ryuuko jumped off, blushing faintly.

“The great Ladybug has a girlfriend?” Lila spat. “I shouldn’t be shocked.”

“Yeah yeah. Can you get yourself back into the school?” Ladybug messed with her yoyo, looking more bored than anything else. “Or is Hawkmoth just going to send you another akuma?”

“No idea what you’re talking about.”

“If anyone finds out, you’ll be arrested.” Ladybug sighed, “You’re almost an adult Lila. There’s time to change.” She paused a moment. “I want you to be able to change. Start with some apologies, okay?” Before Lila could answer, she zipped away, ducking into the bathroom as her miraculous beeped. “How many resets?”

Juleka was about the leave the bathroom. “Uh, I think 16.”

“Damn,” she swore. “Well, you did great. We’ll meet up for some training okay? I need to recharge and get out of here.”

Juleka nodded, heading out with a small smile, Sass giving her a little wave before ducking behind Juleka’s long hair.

Ladybug sighed, whispering “Spots off” tiredly.

“I think what you said to Lila was very big of you Marinette!”

“Yeah?” She lifted her necklace charm to her mouth, chewing on it nervously. “You think I did the right thing?”

“I do.” Tikki stole a cookie from her purse, munching away. “What did you send Nino to do?”

“We think the butterflies might return to Hawkmoth. I’m not sure, but since he’s old enough to follow and not lose his transformation now, we might as well look.”

Tikki nodded. “So we may find his lair! That’s smart!”

“I just hope it works out. Come on, I should get back to class.” She let TIkki in her pocket, heading back to the classroom where Alya was telling their teacher that Nino had to run and check on his brother after the akuma.

Lila was watching Marinette as she slid into her seat next to Adrien, but there wasn’t the same kind of anger in it. Maybe Lila would really consider trying to change! Adrien gently laid a hand on her knee, which was bouncing rapidly as she scrolled through the textbook on her tablet.

“Are you okay?”

“Mhm.” She nodded, tapping her pen on the table. “Just… thinking.”

Alya sat down at her seat, humming. “Hope Nino gets back soon. But hey, we’re about to break for lunch anyway!”

Marinette giggled. “Yeah, hiding in the bathroom for the morning. What a great first day of school.”

“Some of us don’t mind missing a lesson here and there. Besides, you’ve always gotten great grades, regardless of akuma attacks.” Alya grinned.

Marinette groaned softly. “God, don’t remind me. A girl can only use so much makeup to cover her eye bags.” She leaned on Adrien, who ran his fingers through her hair.

“Well, you’ve always looked beautiful. Sleepy or caffeinated.”

Marinette groaned. “You’re so mean to me. I’m telling Kagami to kick your ass at fencing.” She pouted up at him.

“She would anyway.” Adrien grinned, leaning his cheek against the top of her head.

“You think it’s hot.”

“I think either one of my girls kicking my ass is hot.”

“Sap.” She giggled, and if anyone listened close enough, there was a tiny giggle coming from her pocket too.

The bell rang, and everyone began gathering their bags and getting up. “Are you meeting Nino and his brother?”

“Huh? Oh, yeah, yeah.” Alya nodded. “See you both after lunch.”

Marinette nodded, taking Adrien’s hand, frowning when she felt her earrings give the faintest vibration. She pulled Adrien suddenly, earning a startled noise. Kagami was waiting outside the room, but just got dragged along as Marinette ducked into an empty classroom, locking the door behind them. “Marinette, what are you doing?”

“Hold on.” Marinette glanced out the windows before leaning against the most hidden corner, calling for her transformation. She slid her yoyo open, frowning. “What’s going on, Carapace?”

“Dudette, you were right.” Carapace looked vaguely ill. “The butterfly led me back.”

“Well? Where are you?”

“...Agreste mansion.”

A thick, uneasy silence settled on the room. “...ah.” Ladybug gulped. “Well… I’ll call the team together in a few days and… we’ll come up with a plan. Uh. Get out of there before you’re seen, okay? I’m sure Rena is wondering where you went. I’ve got Chat and Ryuuko with me, but we’re the only four to know, got it?”

“You got it Ladybug.” Carapace nodded before hanging up.

Adrien had slumped against the wall with Kagami talking to him softly, Plagg and Longg talking in what sounded like an ancient language, both looking furious. Tikki joined as soon as Marinette called off her transformation.

“Adrien…”

“It’s father, I know it.” His voice was strained and quiet, eyes swimming with tears he was trying to blink back. “You don’t think Nathalie knows…?”

“I don’t know. But she’s always cared for you, Adricat.” Marinette hugged him, gently pulling Kagami to hug him as well.

“He will be seeing the end of my sword soon,” Kagami vowed.

Adrien laughed, but it was forced. “I’ve already lost Mother. And to think that all this time. All this time…”

“It’s been him behind the mask…” Marinette kissed his head. “Come stay at the bakery. Or… Or see if Gordon will take you in.”

“I… I don’t know. He’s got a family already and I know you and your parents don’t have much space, and Kagami, your mom can’t know, she and my father are friends, and-”

Kagami gently shushed him. “One thing at a time, now. Do you want to leave?”

He nodded, his stomach growling. He shifted. “I didn’t have breakfast…”

“Come on, let’s head home.” She looked over at Tikki, who nodded slightly and the three kwami dispersed, hiding with their respective holders.

Kagami gripped Adrien’s hand as they slipped out, but his eyes widened as they reached the curb, and he ran to hug Gordon, who was standing by a car. “You’re back!”

Marinette smiled softly as she stood by Kagami, watching as Adrien began to ramble excitedly to him, asking about his trip and his family. “I’m glad at least one adult is there consistently.” Kagami’s voice was soft. “Even if Nathalie cares for him, she’s so busy it’s hard for them to spend time together. He’s said that even she often misses meals with him.”

Marinette nodded. “He was over quite a bit during summer… he even came to dinner as Chat Noir a few times. But I think he just likes the way Papa arm wrestles as him. Though I think Maman may… have an idea of his identity. Maybe mine too…”

“Your mother is certainly aware of mine. When you were teaching me to bake as Ryuuko, she hesitated. She was about to call me Kagami.”

“She’s always been perceptive. I could never hide anything from her as a child. And… I’m thinking about revealing my identity. Now that we know who we’re fighting, it would be nice to not constantly worry about the miracle box, and I have a feeling Daizzi and Barkk would get along with her.” She grinned a little. “And Tikki of course. Stompp and Roarr especially would love Papa.”

Kagami nodded, smiling. She and Adrien had gotten to know all the kwami well during their time with Marinette. The bakery was their favorite place to be, since Adrien and Kagami didn’t often get to indulge in treats at home, and the bakery just had a warm, homey feel, even if it was smaller.

Adrien turned to the two of them, grinning, Hawkmoth almost forgotten for the moment. “Gordon was supposed to take me home, but he says I can come to the bakery!”

Marinette smiled. “Thank you sir! Would you like to come along?”

He signed, and she looked to Adrien to translate. “He says he won’t stay long, but he wouldn’t mind stopping to buy a blueberry tart!”

“Excellent.” Marinette took Adrien’s hand, giving it a soft squeeze as they headed across the street.

“M. Lefebvre, it’s lovely to see you.” Sabine smiled from behind the counter.

Adrien grinned. “It’s M. Segal now! He and his husband got married over the summer.”

“Well, congratulations, M. Segal.” Sabine smiled. “How can I help you?”

“He’d like a blueberry tart.” Adrien giggled when Gordon ruffled his hair before paying and taking the tart.

“Maman, are you and Papa closing for lunch soon?”

“Yes, in a few minutes. Why do you ask?”

Marinette bit her lip. “I need to talk to you guys. But don’t hurry too much. We’ll be upstairs.” She pulled Adrien and Kagami, frowning.

“Mari, what’s going on?”

“I’m telling them my identity. I know this many people knowing is dangerous, but we know where Hawkmoth is, and likely who.” Marinette frowned and began to pace in the kitchen as Adrien and Kagami sat down. “If we need back up outside of the current holders, especially considering only Carapace and Viperion are 18 or older, and now that Sombre Scale is replacing him… Maman and Papa could fill in as temporary holders. I really think Maman could handle Ziggy, and maybe Papa could wield Orikko?.”

Tikki zipped out, frowning. “While I don’t think telling them is a bad idea, I’m not sure Orikko is a good fit.”

“We do have Rena for distractions…” Marinette frowned, muttering softly to herself as she paced. “Maybe Stompp then. Intangibility and Impenetrability could work well. Maman and Papa are already yin and yang.” She smiled a little, looking up as Tom and Sabine came upstairs. Tikki didn’t quite hide, but did move to be next to Marinette’s pigtail, more to reassure her than anything else.

Tom paused. “Marinette, hold still. There’s a giant bug next to you.” He slowly grabbed the newspaper.

“No, Papa, this is Tikki. Um… how do I put this?” She sighed. “Rip off the bandaid, I guess. Maman, Papa, I’m Ladybug. I was gifted these earrings about three years ago, when I was still in collége. And Tikki is the goddess of creation. She grants me the power to transform into Ladybug and protect Paris.”

Sabine sat down, shock written in her expression as Tom stared at Tikki. “You?”

Tikki nodded. “Yes. I am an ancient being from beyond the existence of this universe.”

“Aw, come on sugarcube. Enough with the theatrics.”

There were four yelps of “Plagg!” from Tikki, Kagami, Adrien, and Marinette.

“They already knew my kitten was a hero. I’m Plagg, the kwami of destruction. We kwami are gods, grant powers, blah blah blah, and your kid is the best bug we’ve had in eons! Got any cheese?”

“Plagg, pleasssse, be polite to our hosssstssss.” Longg slid out from inside Kagami’s blazer, flickering his tongue. “I apologize for my assssssociate. I am Lonng, the dragon kwami of intuition. I grant young Misssss Kagami her powerssss.”

Marinette rubbed the back of her neck, smiling weakly. “...the only holders I haven’t chosen at this point is King Monkey and Chat. Adrien received his miraculous at the same time as I did, and King Monkey was… well, he was an emergency, though I may bring him in again.”

Sabine nodded slowly, smiling a little when Plagg zipped around her curiously. “Marinette, what do you mean you chose the holders?”

“Well, it was a few months after I received the miraculous, and Tikki got sick. I had to take her to a healer, who ended up being the one who oversees the miraculous. He is… he’s training me to take over. He was the previous turtle holder, before Carapace, and eventually, I’ll be the one who takes care of the zodiac and wuxing miraculous.”

“Why are you deciding to tell us now?” Tom frowned. “You kept it a secret all this time.”

“Because we finally have a solid lead on taking down Hawkmoth.” She took a deep breath. “And I need your help.”


End file.
